The old-fashioned barber shop is undergoing a revolution, and as the format fades away, the men’s hair salon is moving in to replace it.

And one company — Taylor & Colt — hopes to capitalize on this growing market segment by franchising its concept of catering to wealthier, professional clientele.

Moe Amanzay opened the first Taylor & Colt franchise in the RBC Centre of Toronto’s PATH underground mall in November 2012, and it is now seeing a steady 600 clients each month. Taylor & Colt signed on another dozen franchisees, who are set to open locations across Canada and the United States in upscale locations frequented by business professionals.

The hold up seems to be finding the right real estate to set up shop. They need locations in areas that generate high traffic in a higher income demographic, which usually come with higher lease rates.

The plan is for 20% of locations to be corporately owned, while the remaining 80% will be franchise locations. For franchisees, the cost of opening a Taylor & Colt franchise ranges from $150,000 to $220,000.

“There are not many choices out there for men wanting to get their hair cut. We saw the old barber shops slowly die off. We just saw that the marketplace needed a revival for the men’s concept, and it needed an upgrade not just to bring back the old, but to bring some new life into it.”

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There are plenty of women’s salons and bargain hair cutters in the market, but Taylor & Colt says its upscale services are tailored to the successful, urban gentleman. Customers go to be pampered with hot towel shaves, hand massages, facial treatments, waxing, laser hair removal, teeth whitening and more.

There are several companies in the United States already taking advantage of this market niche: The Art of Cutting in New York offers a similar experience, and Roosters is a chain with 300 locations are among the options available.

“We felt [the competition wasn’t] bringing to market what we could be bringing, and should be offering to the male client,” Mr. Bellotti says. “There are new services out there that a lot of men aren’t aware of, and we’re bringing it to them.”

That sentiment is echhoed by Susan Moren, owner of Kyron Spa and Salon Consulting, who has been in the business more than 40 years. She says the men’s hair cutting business is due for a shakeup. “Men’s styles have changed. They have become more concerned with fashion, especially businessmen. They want to look good, and they know what the latest trends are,” she says.

She also says male clientele can be extremely loyal. “When a man finds a good barber, he’ll go back to that same person time and time again confident that the service will be good.”

Its first franchisor, Mr. Amanzay, has worked with Trade Secrets for years and owns three of its beauty products retail franchises.

“We have a completely different feeling,” he says. “The other places have more of the older culture, older barbers, and stuff like that. Ours is more modern, more fun, and more creative.”

Word of mouth has been the main growth driver for Taylor & Colt, which spent only $40,000 on marketing promotions in its first year. The company contends it’s all about the location — being at the heart of the city’s financial district and close to Union Station, Toronto’s main transit hub is exactly the kind of place Taylor & Colt needs to be.

“We try to cater to any person — from 18 to 80 years old — and we do have that range of clients. We have some of the richest Canadians coming in and getting their hair done,” he says.

The next Toronto location planned for Yonge and Eglinton, another affluent area in the city, is expected to open in six months. Mr. Bellotti plans to open 15 to 20 locations across Canada in the next five years, and he says the company has already received deposits for locations from Victoria to Newfoundland.

Another location Mr. Bellotti has his eye on is the Nordstrom in Sherway Gardens in Toronto’s west end. “In the malls, it’s mainly women’s fashion. Nordstrom carries an extensive array of higher end men’s clothing, so we feel it would be a good complement to have a Taylor & Colt right outside the Nordstrom entrance,” he says.

While Taylor & Colt still has to grow brand awareness across the country, it understands that targeting the right demographics is the key.

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